Unethical TV coverage

Unethical TV coverage

What I saw that afternoon (Saturday, July 6, 1996) on ANteve's
program (Cakrawala) was an act of despicable hypocrisy.

The cops were raiding Safari Hotel in West Java in search of
Ecstasy dealer/user, but what they got were couples (some are
teenagers) conducting unethical behavior (according to ANteve
reporter). Those who could not show the wedding certificate were
taken to the police headquarters, and that looked just like a
party for the reporters.

Well, interviewing this young girl under full TV coverage (the
reporters were from SCTV and ANteve), was just as unethical as
what they did. Why couldn't they save her embarrassment by
leaving her alone or cover her face the way they do to criminals.
Even worse, they asked some really unnecessary stupid questions
such as why she didn't do it at home, and how many times she had
done it. Hello. Mind your own business. The questions they posed
for the girl only showed that they are incompetent. I feel sorry
for the girl.

I don't know what kind of credit these people got from doing
their job that day, but certainly it could mean disgrace and
humiliation for the girl and her family, for there must be
friends and neighbors watching it that afternoon.

RITA SOEMARNO

Jakarta